My Bucket List: Things To Do Before I Leave University

As the end of my second year of University looms, I've begun to think about all the opportunities Cardiff has to offer which I haven't taken advantage of yet. I took this thought home with me, and whilst sat in the kitchen with my housemates, we decided to write a list of things that we want to do in Cardiff before we leave this bustling city for bigger and better things. Together we wish to complete everything on our list, and in the process, make some invaluable memories with those who made our University careers special. Nothing will help to beat graduation-blues like knowing you've ticked everything off your before-I-leave-uni bucket list! 

I've decided to share our list on my blog (not only to remind my housemates of what we've decided upon) but also because it gives some alternative ideas about what you can do in Cardiff if you decide to visit. So here we go…

1. Dr Who Experience at Cardiff Bay

The Doctor Who Experience takes you on an interactive journey through space and time as you discover the world of the Doctor and his companions. As lovers of the series ourselves, we decided visiting is a must! As Doctor Who is filmed primarily in Wales, this is a little way for the BBC to give something back to the people of Wales. All of my friends who have been loved it and it is definitely on my list of things to try first!

2. Techniquest

Having grown up in Wales myself, I have of course been on the mandatory primary school trip/school holiday trip on multiple occasions before I was of secondary school age. I adored Techniquest when I was younger and would love to return, and seeing as many of my housemates have never been, this seems like the perfect opportunity.

3. Go to a 6 Nations game at the Millennium Stadium

I've been to the Millennium Stadium to watch the rugby on multiple occasions, however, I've never actually been to a 6 Nations game. Dad tends to buy tickets for us each year, but prefers to take us to Autumn international games as we get to see big teams such as Australia and New Zealand. I LOVE my Dad for getting us tickets, don't get me wrong, but I do feel that the atmosphere in Cardiff when the 6 Nations is on is like nothing I've seen before and would love the opportunity to be part of the passionate crowd cheering on the Welsh boys in the stadium!

4. See the Cardiff Devils play

I've never seen an ice hockey match in my life, full stop. Maybe once during the winter Olympics, but that has to be it. My housemate, Rae, is on the Cardiff University hockey team and she's constantly talking about going to see the Devil's and how good they are to watch. We recently discovered that you can go skating on the ice after the match, this sealed the deal for us. Watching ice hockey will be a new experience for me which is perfect for my bucket list as I want it to encourage me to try as many different things as I can during my University career!

5. Go on a boat trip around Cardiff Bay

This is something I've wanted to do since being a fresher at Cardiff University, but unfortunately due to a badly timed exam period last summer, we never made it to the bay to try out a boat trip. Fortunately though, this year I have no summer exams, and so will be able to engage in daytime as well as nighttime activities. This would be particularly lovely in some summer sunshine - fingers crossed we'll get some!

6. Spend a day at Barry

As a household of Gavin and Stacey lovers, Barry Island was one of the first places that sprung to mind when we thought 'summer in Cardiff'. Lounging on the beach, eating chips on the promenade and wasting money on the rides and games at the Pleasure Park sounds like a fabulous summer's day to me!

7. Watch a show at the Millennium Centre

There's nothing quite the same as seeing a live theatre performance! As a household full of musical theatre lovers, I think we'll be keeping an eye out for any musicals that may be coming to Cardiff in the coming year. I've heard from a couple of fellow students that the London production of The Lion King is coming to the Millennium Centre next year for a very reasonable price so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for tickets for that!

8. Play rounders and have a picnic at Bute Park

Nothing says summer quite as much as a good game of rounders. And where better place to do that than in the picturesque setting of Bute Park with its expanse of luscious green grass. The park becomes one of the central hubs of social life during the summer months as people descent upon it to soak up some rays and meet their friends. A game of rounders and homemade picnic in the park sounds like the perfect summer's day to me!

9. Visit Tredegar House

I've already been to Tredegar House, but the house and it's grounds are so big that I didn't have time to look around the whole place and would love to go again! I went with my family last time (that's my Dad looking like an idiot in the picture on the left) and we had a lovely day eating scones in the tea rooms and exploring the house. The house is wonderfully decedent and full of interesting history. The grounds stretch on in a seemingly endless fashion - I'd love to go on a sunny day to be able to explore them fully. The rest of my housemates haven't been so I suggested adding this to our bucket list as I really do think visiting is worth it!

10. Eat at Cafe Citta

Cafe Citta comes out as the top place to eat on a budget on TripAdviser (who am I to argue with them?). I've wanted to try it for a while as my housemate, Vicky, has been there previously with her boyfriend and said it was fantastic! She's quite the little foodie so I trust her judgement wholeheartedly. It's an Italian restaurant - which is my ultimate favourite cuisine - and from the reviews I've seen the food is prepared fresh and is full of hearty Italian flavour. I've been dying to try Cafe Citta and now my bucket list gives me the perfect excuse to splash out on a nice meal out.

11. Try out the flavoured beers, ales and largers at Zero Degrees Microbrewery

I've heard such good things about Zero Degrees from my old flatmates, my brother and from various customers at my local pub who travelled to Cardiff to try out it's unique ales. They also do food there so it would be the perfect destination for a quiet night out with friends when we're fancying something other than Cardiff's notorious clubbing scene.

12. Eat at Wally's Delicatessen 

Wally's is possibly my favourite shop in the whole of cardiff! It's located in Royal Arcade (one of Cardiff's lovely little Victorian arcades) and it's shelves are stacked with all sorts of foods imaginable. The prices aren't exactly student friendly, but to shop there for the odd bit of nice meat or some fabulously tasty olives every now and again will hardly break the bank. Myself and my housemate, Aaron, had a look around there last week and discovered that they have a cafe upstairs. I've never tried it but can only imagine it will be lovely judging by the top quality products and service you receive downstairs in the delicatessen. 

13. Go for tapas and post-dinner cocktails at 10 Feet Tall

10 Feet tall is a restaurant come bar come live music venue. It's tapas is particularly well renowned and as our housemate, Becka, is leaving us in the summer to spend a year in Spain, it seems only fitting for her to have her last meal with us eating some tapas and sipping on some cocktails! They have a 2-4-1 cocktail menu, which I'm sure we'll take full advantage of, which includes some fabulous cocktails such as Margarita's, Cosmopolitan's, and my personal fave, White Russians! Other more intricate cocktails are also available for a higher price.

14. Go boating on Roath Park lake

Roath Park is equally as stunning in scenery as Bute Park. It is centred around a large lake on which you can go boating in the summer. Prices to rent the boats are rather reasonable and would undoubtedly create some hilarious memories as we attempt to row ourselves along the lake... This would be the perfect activity for a summer's day and as Joe's ice cream parlour recently opened by Albany Road we'd be in the best location to pop over to pick up a refreshing scoop of their famous vanilla ice cream!

15. Get ice cream from Cadwaladers

Cadwaladers is located down in Cardiff Bay and would be a lovely way to end our little summer boat trip (number 5 on our list). I've heard great things about their creamy ice cream and their range of interesting flavours and am very interested to try it out. In my home town we're lucky enough to have luxury chocolate shop, Heavenly, who specialise in creating imaginative and delicious flavour of ice cream and I'm looking forward to seeing if Cadwaladers can meet or surpass their high standards.

16. Play hide and seek in Ikea

This idea is something that we've all wanted to do since we arrived. We're all big kids at heart! Of course the lure of Ikea's cheap lunchtime menu (and their delicious Swedish meatballs) are also drawing factors and I'm sure we'll be spending just as much time gorging in the canteen as we will running around the store trying to find each other!

17. Try out a dance class at Wonderland Studios

Our house recently inherited a nintendo wii, and since we've been hosting Just Dance tournaments on a regular basis we've become inspired to take a real life dance class. I've heard great things about Wonderland Studios and they specialise in a variety of specialities of dance and offer weekly classes. We're particularly interested in trying out Latin & Ballroom (fuelled by our love of Strictly Come Dancing) and Ballet. I'll need to work on my flexibility a bit beforehand, but hey, I've got a while for that yet anyway…

18. Eat at The Clink

The Clink is a charity run restaurant. They focus upon the rehabilitation of ex-offenders and help to reduce their chances of re-offending by offering them work in the hospitality industry. All of the staff in the restaurant are ex-offenders, from the chefs to the waiting staff. Those who I know who've been said the standard of the food is exceptional and so is the service. It's such an interesting idea and I totally believe that it's important to support schemes such as these!

19. Go for a bingo night

This sounds like a bit of a granny-esque activity, but we've actually been gagging to go on a bingo night for ages! I can't think of many things better than having food, getting boozy and attempting to win a couple of rounds of bingo with my hilariously entertaining friends. Who knows, we may even win a bit of dosh along the way if we're lucky! 

20. Go to Cardiff International Pool

The International Pool is located in the bay and offers many facilities such as an Olympic sized swimming pool, sauna, steam room, spa and gym. However, what we're interested in is running around the place sliding down the slides like big kids! 

What would you put on your to-do-before-I-finish-uni bucket list?

Have you tried any of the things on my list before? Did you enjoy?